Do You Really Own Your Life?

“Be like water, my friends” — Bruce Lee

There are downsides to everything, including the natural human tendency to seek pleasure. There are obvious ones like seeking short-term pleasure at the cost of long-term health. I think most of us understand how procrastination, exercise avoidance, breaking diets and so forth connect to this.

But there was something else that occurred to me this morning, connected to adjusting to the new house. The truth is that for various reasons we lived in a house that was smaller than we liked, and uncomfortable in some ways that rankled. But it was a place of safety during the Plague, and it was in the school system that Jason was used to. His friends were there. So…we were nailed in place until he graduated high school. Now we are in the new house and it feels STRANGE.

When I teach Tai Chi, and often when I do a lecture of any kind, I like to “walk the edges of the room.” Walk the circumference. Feel the space. Its something proprioceptive, something kinesthetic. Who do I have to be for my energy to fill this space? For my insides and outsides to match. When they don’t, you experience discomfort. You don’t want to rattle around, nor do you want to choke in constraint. You want to “fit” your space, your clothes, your life.

If that concept makes sense, try this: if you are born into a life of wealth and privilege, you need to feel like you inhabit it. Deserve it. It has to “fit” you or you will destroy your own happiness. This can happen to lottery…